Question: I have an aunt, uncle and their three children in Winnipeg, Canada. They are telling me to apply as a working immigrant in Canada. They will provide me a room in their house to stay and they will sponsor my application. Just want to know how can I start to apply for a working immigrant visa, I mean what should be my first step to apply?

Answer: You may be eligible under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program. The requirements are as follows:

You are eligible to apply under Family Support priority assessment stream if you can demonstrate that you:

• Support: Have a close relative who is an established resident of Manitoba and who is willing and able to support your settlement in the province.
• Age: You are between the ages of 21 and 49. 
• Education/training: You have completed post-secondary education of at least one academic year and received a diploma or certificate. 
• Work experience: You have at least two years of full-time work experience within the past five years. 
• Language: You have enough English or French to get a job in Manitoba in your intended occupation soon after you arrive. For an objective assessment of your English skills take an IELTS test (International English Language Testing System) and submit your score with your application. 
• Adaptability: You can demonstrate your intention and ability to settle successfully in Manitoba based on your connection to Manitoba, including settlement supports from family employability, based on your training and work experience related to your intended occupation, including any license or certification required in your country of residence.

Question: I am now on a work permit for Canada, and my current full-time employer will sponsor me to extend my stay.  Can I work two jobs (as I currently do) on a sponsored visa, or is it only up to my sponsor’s discretion?  Can I stay in Canada if I no longer work for my visa provider, say if I take a month at the end to travel without work?  I hold a New Zealand passport, if that has any influence.  

Answer: A work permit is issued to a foreign worker and is usually tied to one employer. After your work permit expires, you can always stay as a visitor to Canada as long as you apply to change your work visa to a visitor's visa. This is a paper process that does not take too long and a visitor's visa is quite easy to obtain.

Question: I would like to apply to the permanent residence through Quebec. If I am approved, do I legally have to live in Quebec? if so, for how long before I can move  (to live and work) in Ontario?

Answer: Under Canada’s Charter every resident has freedom of movement. However, the Quebec program is designed to attract people who genuinely intend to reside in Quebec. If you want to live in Ontario and are simply using Quebec as a gateway, you would be misrepresenting your intent to Quebec and Federal immigration officials, which is both dishonest and can potentially be problematic.

Question: What rights do illegal immigrants have to health care? If someone was an illegal immigrant and pregnant and needed health care for herself and her baby, is there a way they can get help without having to pay?

Answer: Unfortunately, illegal immigrants have very little protection in Canada. You can try private health insurance or even seeking out donations. You may want to visit your local settlement agency and see if they can connect you with a charity or organization that can lend you a hand, but, sadly, there are not a lot of options in this regard available to established Canadians, let alone immigrants. Otherwise, you'll simply have to pay the medical bills yourself.

Question:  I am an American currently living with my Canadian boyfriend in Canada on a visitor's visa. I am looking for a job but am having a hard time finding one. I read online that there is a marriage visa that I can apply for if I get married. Is that in fact the truth? And if so, would I be able to work with that visa?

Answer:  After you get married, your Canadian spouse can sponsor you to become a permanent resident of Canada. The sponsorship process takes approximately six to eight months. You can't work until you become a landed immigrant (a.k.a. permanent resident).

Please note that he has the choice of sponsoring you as an in-Canada spouse or out-of-Canada spouse. The in-Canada sponsorship does not automatically give you the right to remain in Canada. You have to extend your stay in Canada at least 30 days before your visitor’s visa expires. You can extend your stay more than once but there is no guarantee Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will extend your stay each time.

However, I haven't seen CIC refuse requests for extensions, especially when a spousal sponsorship is in process. Please note that in the event the sponsorship is refused, your husband will not have a right to appeal. You will most probably have to start from scratch again and be sponsored as though you were outside Canada.

Again, you can continue staying in Canada as long as CIC extends your visitor’s visa (usually six months at a time). The application paperwork is pretty much similar except your permanent residence application (which is the second step of a sponsorship application) will be processed at the Canadian visa office that is responsible for your geographical area.

Please note that the sponsor (your husband) will have to meet a number of minimum requirements in order to be eligible to sponsor you.

Question: I score really high in points as a skilled professional in terms of immigration, but heard that the waiting queue is extensive (three to five years). We have therefore directed our research toward spousal sponsorship.  
 
Allow me to state our situation more thoroughly. In Switzerland we live from my income (about $150,000 Canadian) and my wife teaches English classes, but really more for the fun of it (her income is about $1,700). My wife has assets in Canada, though, ($50,000) and she co-owns a cottage (her share is $150,000). My wife would like to sponsor me, but her income in the last 12 months is not nearly as high as the "minimum necessary income" requested by the Canadian government. My wife has worked in well-paid jobs before, but this was more than five years in the past. Our questions are as follows:

Answer:
 
a) Is immigration through sponsorship of my wife the most promising path we can pursue? 

Yes, you're best off taking this path, considering your situation.
 
b) Will my wife's small income affect the financial evaluation. Will she be eligible for sponsorship? 

No problem. She can sponsor you.
 
c) I saw in the guide to sponsoring that the "minimum necessary income" is not a criterion when sponsoring your spouse. At the same time they claim a financial evaluation is required. What sense does that make, especially since assets don't seem to be of interest for the Canadian officials?

What you'll need to do is complete the forms. Make sure that you are truthful with numbers and information.  It's also important that your wife express her firm intent of returning and living in Canada.

Question: I score really high in points as a skilled professional in terms of immigration, but heard that the waiting queue is extensive (three to five years). We have therefore directed our research toward spousal sponsorship.  
 
Allow me to state our situation more thoroughly. In Switzerland we live from my income (about $150,000 Canadian) and my wife teaches English classes, but really more for the fun of it (her income is about $1,700). My wife has assets in Canada, though, ($50,000) and she co-owns a cottage (her share is $150,000). My wife would like to sponsor me, but her income in the last 12 months is not nearly as high as the "minimum necessary income" requested by the Canadian government. My wife has worked in well-paid jobs before, but this was more than five years in the past. Our questions are as follows:

Answer:
 
a) Is immigration through sponsorship of my wife the most promising path we can pursue? 

Yes, you're best off taking this path, considering your situation.
 
b) Will my wife's small income affect the financial evaluation. Will she be eligible for sponsorship? 

No problem. She can sponsor you.
 
c) I saw in the guide to sponsoring that the "minimum necessary income" is not a criterion when sponsoring your spouse. At the same time they claim a financial evaluation is required. What sense does that make, especially since assets don't seem to be of interest for the Canadian officials?

What you'll need to do is complete the forms. Make sure that you are truthful with numbers and information.  It's also important that your wife express her firm intent of returning and living in Canada.

Question: I've been in Canada since August 2007. I entered as a student, but now I got my work permit using the E-LMO project in B.C. I really want to immigrate. I want to spend the rest of my life here! How can I do it? I heard something about becoming a landed immigrant — that after two years of living here, I can apply. But I don't understand anything about it! Can I apply from inside Canada or do I have to leave? Please help me!

Answer: There are several ways you can become an immigrant of Canada (gain landed immigrant status). If you are eligible, you can apply now under the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program. Depending on your occupation, you may be eligible to be sponsored for nomination by your employer under the BC Provincial Nominee Program now or after having worked for your employer for nine months. This will help you gain permanent residency at a faster processing time than the FSW program.

If none of the above is applicable, you have the option of applying under the newly announced Canada Experience Class (CEC) option from within Canada. The CEC option requires that you have either completed your studies or have worked in Canada for two years. Certain conditions apply. You can visit Citizenship and Immigration Canada website’s Client Services page for more information.

Question: I am being offered a job in Calgary (I a.m. a US Citizen). Does my wife require a visa to live there, or can she piggy back on my visa? And if she needs to get her own, how much does it cost and how long can she stay on a visitor visa?

Answer: You will need a Work Permit (WP) to work in Canada. Your wife will be able to accompany you if your WP is for an occupation that falls under the National Occupation Classification (NOC) Skill Level O, A or B (Skilled Occupations). She will then also be eligible for an Open WP, which means she can work anywhere in any type of job(s). This will be valid for as long as your WP is valid.

If your occupation is in NOC Skill Level C or D, then she cannot accompany you. However, if she holds an American passport, she can enter Canada as a visitor (tourist) and stay for six months at a time. The initial six months can be extended for a further six months and so on.